Linux Format - UK (2019-12)

http://www.techradar.com/pro/linux December 2019 LXF257 65

Video editing TUTORIALS

Select clip to trim

You should edit – or ‘trim’ – your

clips before placing them on the timeline.

The original clip is left untouched; instead,

a copy of the trimmed clip is added to the

Project Files pane for you to select like any

other. This enables you to produce multiple

clips from a single video file. Start by right-

clicking your chosen clip in the Project Files

window and choosing ‘Split Clip’.

Select start and end points

Either use the slider or click Play to

locate the exact point where you’d like your

edited clip to start. Click Start and you’ll

see its thumbnail appear inside the Start

button. Now position the slider where you

want the edited clip to end and click End. If

you make a mistake or want to change

your start and end points, click Clear to

start again.

Create your clip

Give your edited clip a suitably

descriptive name to help identify it, then

click the Create button. You’ll see it appear

as a new entry in the Project Files window.

The ‘Split Clip’ window will remain open,

enabling you to create more edited clips

from this video file if you need to. Once

you’re done, simply close the window.

1 2 3

audio channel (typically left and right) choose ‘Multiple

Clips (each channel)’ instead. The audio clips will sit on

top of the current video clip, so now is the time to drag

them off to their own separate tracks. At this point you’ll

need to create new tracks: click the green + button

underneath Timeline and then rename the track

accordingly. You’ll notice a black square has appeared

over the top of your video – that originates from the

audio track. Open the audio track’s properties and set

its Scale property to ‘None’ to remove it. Once done, you

can manipulate each audio track independently of the

main video track.

You can also add additional audio tracks – say a

piece of music – to play over your movie. Drag the

music file to the Project Files pane if you’ve not done so

already, then switch to the Audio tab and drag the file

onto its own track. Preview your movie and you should

hear the music track playing over the top of any audio in

your original clips.

Again, you can adjust the volume of your music track

manually using the Volume property, but manually

tweaking different audio tracks can be fiddly,

particularly in relation to other tracks. A semi-

automated solution is available in the form of the

‘Volume Mixing’ property. For example, to give your

soundtrack prominence over the background audio, set

its ‘Volume Mixing’ property to ‘Reduce’, then select

each video clip on Track 1 in turn and set its volume

mixer to ‘Average’. If you’d prefer the music to be in the

background, simply reverse the settings.

Finishing touches

Thanks to OpenShot’s support for multiple tracks, you

can also experiment with placing images, captions or

video clips on top of other clips – just create a new

track, drag your content onto it and watch as it blocks

out the Video track completely. You can adjust its

transparency using the overlaid element’s Alpha

property (try 0.5 for a semi-transparent effect) or

experiment with other settings, such as adjusting its

size or position on-screen.

If you want to add text to your movie, in the form of a

title, subtitles or explanatory captions, check out the

box on adding titles (opposite page). Use the static title

tool to generate captions – most come with transparent

backgrounds, enabling you to lay them over the top of

your video clips without blocking them out.

Once your movie is complete, choose File > Export

Video. Most of the options here are self-explanatory;

choose a file format (the universal MP4 with h.264

codec in most cases), video profile (frame rate and

resolution size) and quality setting. For best results, try

to match the initial resolution of your video clips; failing

that, try a lower quality setting. Finally, click ‘Export

Video’ and sit back. This can take some time to

complete, even for a relatively short video, and will

depend on the speed and spec of your PC. A progress

bar and estimated time to completion will tell you how

long you’ve got to wait, but the conversion rate will vary

at certain points in your movie. In all likelihood you’ll

need to make a cup of tea, coffee or something stronger

for even a relatively short clip.

EDIT YOUR LIFE TO FIT IN LXF Subscribe now at http://bit.ly/LinuxFormat

If your

exported movie

experiences

playback issues,

try exporting

again using

different

presets. Still no

luck? Scale back

the number

of effects in

your movie

or investigate

upgrading your

PC to better

handle the

demands of

video editing.

Look for a

modern multi-

core processor,

a minimum of

8GB of RAM and

a fast SSD drive.

Choose your audio track – a video track or added music – gets

prominence by using the ‘Volume Mixing’ property.

TRIM, SPLIT AND EDIT VIDEO CLIPS

6662Decmbr rb2c019vb09alsho December 2019 LXF257 65

Video editing TUTORIALS

Selectcliptotrim
Youshouldedit–or‘trim’–your
clipsbeforeplacingthemonthetimeline.
Theoriginalclipisleftuntouched;instead,
acopyofthetrimmedclipisaddedtothe
ProjectFilespaneforyoutoselectlikeany
other.Thisenablesyoutoproducemultiple
clipsfromasinglevideofile.Startbyright-
clickingyourchosenclipintheProjectFiles
windowandchoosing‘SplitClip’.

Selectstartandendpoints

EitherusethesliderorclickPlayto

locatetheexactpointwhereyou’dlikeyour

editedcliptostart.ClickStartandyou’ll

seeitsthumbnailappearinsidetheStart

button.Nowpositionthesliderwhereyou

wanttheeditedcliptoendandclickEnd.If

youmakeamistakeorwanttochange

yourstartandendpoints,clickClearto

startagain.

Createyourclip

Giveyoureditedclipasuitably

descriptivenametohelpidentifyit,then

clicktheCreatebutton.You’llseeitappear

asanewentryintheProjectFileswindow.

The‘SplitClip’windowwillremainopen,

enablingyoutocreatemoreeditedclips

fromthisvideofileifyouneedto.Once

you’redone,simplyclosethewindow.

1 2 3

audio channel (typically left and right) choose ‘Multiple
Clips (each channel)’ instead. The audio clips will sit on
top of the current video clip, so now is the time to drag
them off to their own separate tracks. At this point you’ll
need to create new tracks: click the green + button
underneath Timeline and then rename the track
accordingly. You’ll notice a black square has appeared
over the top of your video – that originates from the
audio track. Open the audio track’s properties and set
its Scale property to ‘None’ to remove it. Once done, you
can manipulate each audio track independently of the
main video track.
You can also add additional audio tracks – say a
piece of music – to play over your movie. Drag the
music file to the Project Files pane if you’ve not done so
already, then switch to the Audio tab and drag the file
onto its own track. Preview your movie and you should
hear the music track playing over the top of any audio in
your original clips.
Again, you can adjust the volume of your music track
manually using the Volume property, but manually
tweaking different audio tracks can be fiddly,
particularly in relation to other tracks. A semi-
automated solution is available in the form of the

‘Volume Mixing’ property. For example, to give your

soundtrack prominence over the background audio, set

its ‘Volume Mixing’ property to ‘Reduce’, then select

each video clip on Track 1 in turn and set its volume

mixer to ‘Average’. If you’d prefer the music to be in the

background, simply reverse the settings.

Finishing touches

Thanks to OpenShot’s support for multiple tracks, you

can also experiment with placing images, captions or

video clips on top of other clips – just create a new

track, drag your content onto it and watch as it blocks

out the Video track completely. You can adjust its

transparency using the overlaid element’s Alpha

property (try 0.5 for a semi-transparent effect) or

experiment with other settings, such as adjusting its

size or position on-screen.

If you want to add text to your movie, in the form of a

title, subtitles or explanatory captions, check out the

box on adding titles (opposite page). Use the static title

tool to generate captions – most come with transparent

backgrounds, enabling you to lay them over the top of

your video clips without blocking them out.

Once your movie is complete, choose File > Export

Video. Most of the options here are self-explanatory;

choose a file format (the universal MP4 with h.264

codec in most cases), video profile (frame rate and

resolution size) and quality setting. For best results, try

to match the initial resolution of your video clips; failing

that, try a lower quality setting. Finally, click ‘Export

Video’ and sit back. This can take some time to

complete, even for a relatively short video, and will

depend on the speed and spec of your PC. A progress

bar and estimated time to completion will tell you how

long you’ve got to wait, but the conversion rate will vary

at certain points in your movie. In all likelihood you’ll

need to make a cup of tea, coffee or something stronger

for even a relatively short clip.

EDIT YOUR LIFE TO FIT IN LXF Subscribe now at http://bit.ly/LinuxFormat

If your

exportedmovie

experiences

playbackissues,

tryexporting

againusing

different

presets.Stillno

luck?Scaleback

thenumber

ofeffectsin

yourmovie

orinvestigate

upgradingyour

PCtobetter

handlethe

demandsof

videoediting.

Lookfora

modernmulti-

coreprocessor,

a minimumof

8GBofRAMand

a fastSSDdrive.

Choose your audio track – a video track or added music – gets

prominence by using the ‘Volume Mixing’ property.

TRIM, SPLIT AND EDIT VIDEO CLIPS